1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a disc player capable of loading both a compact disc and a mini-disc, and more particularly, to a disc player for loading and playing selectively a compact disc and a mini-disc by use of double loading devices and a single pickup devices.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
Disc players can record information on and/or reproduce information from discs of magnetic or optical recording type such as optical video disc, digital audio disc, compact disc, mini-disc, etc. Nowadays, each mini-disc player and compact disc player is used for reproduction of only its respective type of disc. Thus, when a user wants to obtain information from different types of discs, he should separately buy a new player applicable thereto.
In general, the disc which is at a naked state or at an encased state in a cartridge is mounted on the tray to be loaded on the player. These disc loading methods depend on the disc player's structure, so that the user can not load the disc by his own selection in view of the disc player's structure. Also, in fields of a common disc player used for reproducing discs of different sizes, although products which can reproduce the discs of different sizes such as a laser disc (LD), a compact disc (CD), etc. are being manufactured, those can be applicable only to the discs of different sizes which are at the naked state.
Further, Katsuichi Sakurai et al. proposed a disc player capable of reproducing both a naked disc and a cartridge-encased disc in E.P. publication 525201 A2 (corres U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,185). Also, Hideo Kawachi et al. proposed the disc player capable of reproducing both a naked disc and a cartridge-encased disc in E.P. Publication 518259 A3 (corres. U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,176). However, the above disc players can reproduce the disc having the same size (or diameter).
In the above Hideo Kawachi et al. patent, there is disclosed an apparatus for elevating the spindle assembly wherein one side of a chassis supporting the spindle assembly is fixed to a main chassis of the disc player and the spindle assembly can be moved up and down in a radial direction centering around the fixing point.
However, in the above Hideo Kawachi et al. patent, since only one end of the spindle assembly elevating apparatus is moved reciprocatingly while the other end is fixed, it is difficult to precisely adjust a position of the spindle assembly. Furthermore, the apparatus for elevating the spindle assembly can be applicable to the naked and cartridge-encased discs of only the same size, so that the disc player can not drive the MD and CD having different sizes, i.e., the smaller cartridge encased mini-disc and the larger naked compact disc.
Accordingly, there is a necessity for providing such disc player that is capable of driving both the smaller cartridge encased mini-disc and the larger naked compact disc.